Family Feuds
by Rashelle
Summary: Basically just a future story including Ed and Winry's children, Roy and Riza's, and Al and Mei's. The families and all their antics and traveling. All the faults that go along with that. First the Elrics head to Central to visit. Future manga/brotherhood
1. Chapter 1

**Woo yeah! New story. I swear I don't know where I'm going with this. XD But anyways, I don't own no FMA, y'all. Yee-haw 0.o. But anyways, here you go!**

(break)

Chapter I

Daaaad! Where're we going?" Abigail complained.

"You'll see when we get there," her father grumbled.

Eric and Abigail Elric were the two children of Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell Elric. Eric was 12 and Abigail was 11. Eric was a spitting image of his father when he was younger, minus the long hair and bangs. Eric's hair was short and he spiked it in the front.

Abigail, on the other hand, had light brown hair that she had probably inherited from her grandmother, and bright blue eyes that had specks of gold mixed in. Her long hair was left down.

The family was currently on a train, headed wherever the parents had decided they were going.

"Just tell us," Eric grumbled to his parents.

"No!" Their father shot back defiantly.

Winry sighed. It was like she had three children, not two. "Ed, just tell them."

Ed huffed. "Well you're no fun."

Winry gripped a wrench in her bag she'd been rummaging through. "What did you say?" She growled.

"Nothing!" Ed said quickly. Then he turned back to his pouting kids. "Central, to see the b****** Fuhrur."

"Language, _dear_."

"Fine. The darn colonel. But anyways, Uncle Al and Aunt Mei are coming to Amestris for a while, 'taking a vacation'. They just had a baby boy, too. Siyu might be there. It was too hard to get Ling and Lan Fan out here too, though."

"You mean the Emperor and his wife?" Abigail asked.

"Of Xing, yeah."

"Cool!" Eric grinned. "What's our new cousin's name?"

"Nathaniel," Ed replied.

Abigail made a face. "What kind of name is that?"

Ed shrugged. "The baby looks almost exactly like Mei, save for his dark gold eyes, so he got a western name opposed to an eastern name."

Abigail wrinkled her nose. "Still! Who likes that name?"

"Alphonse, apparently."

(break)

As the train pulled into the station, the family of four stood up and stretched.

"Ohh... Ed, I still don't understand how you and Al could do this all the time back then!"  
>Ed just flashed a mischievous look at his wife.<p>

"Oh, oh, oh! Tell us another story of you and Uncle Al's travels!" Abigail squealed.

Ed chuckled and patted her head. "Later. Let's get a hotel room so I can get to Central Command to harass the Fuhrur."

(break)

Dropping their bags on the floor, Ed headed for the door to their room.

"Either of you two want to come with me?"

Both children scrambled to follow him.

"Bye Ed," Winry pecked him on the cheek. Ed drew one arm around her, using the other one to open the door.

"Don't you dare break your leg!" She called as the door closed softly with a 'click'.

(break)

Walking down the streets of Central was always a fun thing for the second generation Elric children. Abigail would stop to look into shop windows often, and Eric was always smiling, taking everything in. There was always a bounce to his step on the streets of this particular city.

"Dad! Can I buy thaaat?" Abigail pleaded.

Ed smiled. "I'll buy you something later."

He grabbed his daughter's shoulder and son's arm.

"Come on, I need to have a nice conversation with Colonel Jack-a$&."

"Didn't mom say not to swear?"

Ed deflated. "But I can't help it!" He whined to his kids. "Especially with Roy!"

Abigail giggled, and Eric smirked. Their dad was so immature.

"And besides, you guys know better than to go around saying that stuff, right?

"...RIGHT?" Ed glared at Eric's smirk, and Eric put a straight face back on.

"Sure."

Ed didn't believe this one bit, but turned away with a sigh. He knew it was his fault in the first place. Maybe he should just have Teacher give them some lessons instead of just having her as an aunt figure...

(break)

They arrived at the Command Center soon afterwards... Or the NEW command center. The old one—or what was left of the old one—had been demolished after the battle with Father, and Fuhrur Grumman had rebuilt it entirely. The design was different, and it was much more efficient than the old one. Now Fuhrur Mustang continued to improve it, and repair certain wings when Edward came to visit.

The guards saluted Ed. They all knew him, and he was granted access all over the base, even if he wasn't in the military anymore.

Ed waved as he walked past, his kids very close behind him.

On their way in, they passed Havoc and Breda. "Hey, Chief!" Havoc greeted.  
>Ed grinned and waved back.<p>

Outside the Fuhrur's office, Eric heard a gunshot. He turned to his sister, who was giggling. She knew what was going on too. Their father was smirking as he flung open the door.

"Hey, b******!" He shouted cheerily.

The Fuhrur looked up from his paperwork, relieved for a distraction from his secretary... Who also happened to be his wife.

"Fullmetal," He smirked. "Didn't Winry tell you not to swear with your kids?"

Ed shrugged. "But she's not here."

"I can tell her," Mustang replied.

"And I can tell Hawkeye about your hidden stash of undone paperwork."

"... Never mind, then."

"I thought so."

Ed was lounging on one of the couches, his feet propped up on the armrest now. Eric and Abigail sighed. Why did their 'Uncle' and dad always try to get on each other's nerves? At least it wasn't physical... Yet.

The door burst open again. "Dad! Guess what!" An ecstatic voice shouted.

-Ian Mustang, age 12, messy blonde hair and dark brown eyes, physique of his father. He was a good friend of the Elric children, which both Ed and Roy found slightly disturbing, but secretly amused and satisfactory.-

"Oh! Hi Eric, Abigail," he walked over to the couch they were on and dropped down next to them, seeming to completely forgetting his father.

"Hey! Do you think you guys could come to the library with me to find an alchemy book? I want to read something on Flame Alchemy, since Dad isn't allowed to teach me," Ian pouted.

Ed looked over to Roy, who raised his hands in mock surrender. "I would have probably taught him. Hawkeye said no."

Ed understood. No one went against Hawkeye, after all.

"But isn't Riza's last name 'Mustang'?" Abigail asked.

"It is. But everyone kept calling her Hawkeye after we got married, and she never corrected them, so at work, she's still Hawkeye, the second scariest woman in the country." (First is Olivier Mira Armstrong, obviously.)

"Who's the first?" Eric asked innocently.

Roy and Ed looked at each other and shivered.

After a short silence—

"Sir, you realize I'm right here," The blonde woman sighed behind Mustang's chair.

Ed saw Roy's eyes go wide and he burst out laughing. He almost fell of the couch.

A bullet next to his head made Ed jump and he ended up falling off the couch. ...Spoke too soon, I guess.

"Edward, and you need to act more like a role-model for your children."

Roy snorted and tried to stop his snickering.

"Can we go to the library?" Ian whined.

Ed stood up quickly. "Sure. Come on." He need out of that office or something was going to go BOOM.

As Ed led the three children out the door of the Fuhrur's office, they all heard a gun click. In other words, "Finish the paperwork, or I'll shoot you in the head."

Ed was glad Mustang had married someone who could keep him in line.

(break)

"Uncle Ed! I thought the library was that way!" Ian cried.

Ed nodded. "Yeah. But if you want anything advanced on alchemy, especially flame Alchemy, you need to go to the military-restricted library."

A grin spread across Ian's face. "Really! We're going there!" He started bouncing around.

Ed frowned. "You've never been there?"

"Once," Ian slowed down. "But I didn't get to look around, really."

"Seriously?" Eric gasped. "Dad brings us here every time we visit Central! It's one of our favorite places!"

Abigail nodded vigorously.

Ian's mouth hung open. He snapped it shut. "I'm going to follow you guys around Central every time you visit! You always do the best stuff," Ian grinned.

Abigail smiled.

"Maybe sometime you can come visit us in Risembool!" Eric suggested excitedly.

"Yeah!" Abigail agreed. "And dad has a lot of alchemy books at home, you'd love it there! Oh, have you ever been to Xing! Uncle Al and Aunt Mei have a HUGE collection of Alkahestry books there!" Abigail rambled on lovingly.

Ed chuckled and patted her on the head.

"Hey!" She pouted. "Dad, don't do that! It makes me feel like a little kid!"

Ed smiled at her. "Well, you are kind of short."

"HEY! I AM NOT SHORT!"

Ed had to lean against a wall he was laughing so hard.

"What?" Ian asked, confused.

"Old family feud, I guess," Eric sighed.

They made it to the library without further incident, Ed never completely able to wipe the smirk off his face, so when the assistant at the counter gave him a dirty look, he struggled to put a serious face in as he marched up to the counter.

"This is a restricted library, sir. Unless you are in the military, please go to the public library down the street."

Ed slammed his palm down on the counter's smooth mahogany surface.

"Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist."

The librarian seemed surprised, and then she squinted at him.

"Of course!" she chuckled quietly. "How did I not recognize you?" she waved them on, and the children scrambled to catch up with the fast paced former alchemist.

"Dad," Abigail asked hesitantly, walking fast to keep up with her father. "Why do you address yourself as the Fullmetal Alchemist for military stuff?"

Ed sighed as he ran his hand through his bangs. "When I was in the military, I had the name 'Fullmetal', as my state alchemist title. Like Colonel Jack-a$&, his-"

"Language," Abigail scolded.

"And he's the Fuhrur," Eric sighed.

"Whatever," Ed grumbled. "Anyways, he has the title 'Flame Alchemist', as well as all other state alchemists were given a title. Like Major Armstrong-"

"He's a colonel now," Ian subconsciously corrected.

"COLONEL Armstrong is the Strong Arm Alchemist," Ed gritted his teeth.

"Ok, I get it," Abigail said quickly, not wanting her dad to explode and get thrown out of the library.

Ed nodded curtly and continued walking. He stopped past the bookshelves and opened a door to a private study room.

"Alright. Here's a room for the three of you, because I know you'll be here a while. Grab whatever books you want and come back in here."

Ed ushered them in, but didn't go in the room with them.

"Dad?" Abigail asked.

Ed sighed. "I'm going back to the hotel room. My leg feels off and your mother will kill me if I'm away to long," Ed sighed.

"So you're leaving us here... By ourselves?" Eric asked incredulously.

Ed nodded. "I was here alone when I was twelve, you guys are fine."

Ed started to close the door. "And besides, there are probably ninja guards all hidden around Ian for being the Fuhrur's son anyways."

"Really?" Ian asked.

Ed smirked and shut the door.

(break)

**Yayz! I finished a chapter! XD So this idea came to me at 3am in the morning, when I woke up for some random reason. It's interesting to look back at what you write when you aren't fully awake, then go back and revise it. I continued to write it while I was talking to my sister via house phone while we were on opposite sides of the house, both on the same MMORPG game. Stupid? Pretty much. I was fishing with my avitar, and making money XD (My fishing level is 69! Take that, you bots! I did it myself! HAHAHA!) I won't say which game, but it's a popular free one. Let's see… what else was I doing? Oh, listening to music. Fury of the Storm by DragonForce, I guess. Anyways, Siyu is going to be the name of Ling and Lan Fan's child (Mwhahaha! They are together in my story!) And the name means "Thinking of the world" in Chinese (Unless the Internet is lying… but the Internet never lies, so why am I worried?). I hope it doesn't seem Mary Sue… But yeah, I plan for the characters to make a trip to Xing at one point. Maybe Ishabal too, because I've never seen that before. Anyways, **_**danke **_**for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! Chapter 2! I had this written in advance, and decided not to publish it until I had started the third chapter. I want to stay ahead or it will die. Now read, my minions!**

**Hecate: Shut up, they're probably on a much higher intelligence level than you. I wouldn't be talking.**

**Eona: And besides, no one would follow you in the first place.**

**Me: …but… *goes off to cry***

**Eona: Anyways—**

**Me: I DON'T OWN FMA! Ha! I said it, figment of my imagination!**

**Eona: …**

(Break)

Chapter II

Ed opened the door to his hotel room and kicked off his shoes. "Winry, I'm back!"

His wife walked into view, and seemed surprised to see him. "Where're the kids?"

"I left them at the library," Ed moved to hug Winry, and she leaned into it.

"By themselves?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine."

A wrench hitting Ed's head with a loud 'clang' ruined the sweet moment between the two.

"They'll be fine?" Winry gritted her teeth. "Ed, they're 11 and 12 years old."

"So were Al and I when we went to the library. And besides, they have Ian with them, so there are probably hidden ninja guards all around the room."

Ed was hit by another wrench as he made a move to stand up.

"You idiot," Winry sighed. "Not everybody is like you and your brother. In fact, I'll bet _no one _is."

Ed cautiously stood back up. "Now... Ah... Could you look at my leg? It feels kind of off..."

Ed braced himself for another wrench, but was surprised to no end when none came.

Winry just sighed tiredly and said, "Sit down."

Ed complied silently, and Winry went to get her toolbox.

(Break)

"Why do you think dad left us alone?" Abigail pondered. Eric shrugged, and continued reading.

"Who knows, but I'll bet he wants to be alone with your mom," Ian said, grinning.

Abigail groaned. "Eww..." Then she stood up and stretched. "How long has it been?"

"About two hours."

Abigail walked over to one of the shelves. She ran her hand over the spines as she scanned. Then a rather small book caught her eye. She pulled it out and flipped it over to see the front.

It was a travel log. She frowned. Why would it be in there? She opened up the cover to see a name in the corner. 'Edward Elric'. She grinned.

"Hey, guys! I found something of Dad's in here!"

She rushed back over to the table to see the two boys looking up at her from their books.

"It's a travel log!"

Eric frowned. "What's so important about that, Abi?"

"Idiot! Dad said he used to—and still does—code his alchemy notes in a travel log! He never used to let us see them, and now we have one!"

"So you want to crack the code," Ian said slowly.

Eric shook his head. "Come on, Abigail! Dad is one of the smartest alchemists in the world! How are we going to crack his code?"

"Over time," Abiagil said confidently. "Didn't Uncle Al tell us about that time they were trying to decode notes and it took them ten days working day and night? So we'll work whenever we can! And we'll crack it in less than a year! I promise!"

"A year?" Ian whimpered.

"Yeah," Eric sighed. "I'll be surprised if we can do it in a year."

"Well then," Abigail grabbed some papers and pens from a stack on the table. "Let's get started!"

(Break)

Eric groaned, his face on the table. "This is too d*** hard..."

"No cursing," Abigail muttered automatically.

"Why did dad have to be so d*** smart?" Eric went on.

"Language," Abigail moaned.

"Ian?" Eric asked. A soft snore was his reply.

Abigail wrinkled her nose as the door opened.

"Hey, guys! I'm back..." Ed frowned as he saw the scene before him. Papers shrewn on the floor, books piled high, and they all had their faces on the table... Was that a snore?

"What were you doing?"

"We found some alchemy notes and tried to crack the code. It was too hard," Abigail whined.

"I never want to see another set of coded alchemy stuff again," Eric grumbled.

Abigail sat up slowly and tossed her father the small book.

Ed caught it with ease and turned it to see the cover. He smiled when he opened it.  
>"This is where this went, huh?" Ed snapped his old travel log closed and said, "I wouldn't get too depressed. No one has ever cracked my notes before. Not even the Fuhrur or Alphonse."<p>

His kids perked up. "Really?"

Ed nodded. "Trust me, there are very few notes that are this hard to crack."

Abigail started to straighten up her area. "Like who's?"

"Well, Mustang's are coded using the names of women. You'd have to know every girl he ever dated to make sense of his, I'd imagine. I only understand parts of his. Your Uncle Al has extremely hard notes to crack. In fact, I don't even know what he codes them as."

Eric shook Ian awake.

"Come on," Ed tucked the log in his jacket and indicated the door. "Let's go out for dinner."

(Break)

They walked towards the Fuhrur's mansion on full stomachs. The group of four had gotten Xingese food for dinner, and they were all very content. Ed grinned as he thought of presenting Mustang with the bill.

Lost in thought, Ed didn't notice the flashes of movement that had slowly started to surround them.

When he did finally notice, he was jolted out of his thoughts and instantly on alert, it was too late.

"Give us the kid, and no one gets hurt," A gruff voice demanded from in front of them, somewhere in the shadows.

"There are three of them," Ed smirked. "Which one, dumb-a$&?"

A growl was heard. "The fuhrur's son. Hand him over."

"Nah," Ed said casually. "I haven't had a good fight in a while," He cracked his knuckles, then ran straight at the voice.

He ducked a punch and grabbed the arm, using the owner's momentum to carry them forward and throw them. The next swing was dodged, then the attacker was kneed in the gut. Ed moved swiftly to the next target, and the three kids stood in awe. They'd seen him spar with Uncle Al before, but the two of them hardly ever hurt each other. Now they saw what their dad could truly do.

He moved fluidly and swiftly. He made it look so easy.

A crunch, and Ed had broken a thug's nose with his right fist. The thug stumbled back, and the last one swung sloppily at him, which Ed easily ducked and swept the attacker's legs out from under him. He placed his boot firmly over their throat, and said in a menacing voice, "And remember never to mess with an Elric." Ed pushed down on the black-clothed guy's throat just enough to cut off their air and render last the gang member unconscious.

Ed pocketed his hands casually and walked back over to the kids. "Come on, let's go."

"That was amazing!" Abigail shouted grabbing her Dad's right hand. He winced and she pulled back.

Ed cursed. "I think I broke it." He held up his right arm, squinting in the moonlight. His hand was swollen and one of he fingers was in an ugly looking position.

Ed frowned and put his hand back in his pocket. "This is one of the only times when I wish I either had a) alchemy or b) my automail arm," Ed sighed. "But now Mustang gets to pay the dinner bill and my medical bill." 

(Break)

Ok! And that tis be it! (For now) I want to continue my xover for FMA and SINF, but I can't think straight! I also want to do a Maximum Ride and FMA xover. I've written up to chapter 4, and I'm working on 5 for this story. I've also got a side story I'm working on XD. But anyways, Hecate (Heh-ka-tay) and Eona are code names for the real figments of my imagination that would give me away in real life if you knew who I was. AND I WISH TO STAY ANNONYMOUS! But Hecate is the Greek goddess of magic, and Eona is the name of a really suckish book. But it looks epic on the cover… darn you author for having an epic artist, but being pathetic!


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey! So, uh, this is the third chapter…_

_Eona: Get on with it, they don't care._

_Me: __**Sigh**__ Alright… Hecate, do you mind?_

_Hecate: I do mind. You're lucky I'm here at all. You do it, lazy._

_Me: HEY! I ran a mile this morning! Quit calling me lazy when you pig out!_

_Hecate: It doesn't matter. I can be who ever I want. I can eat all I want, then get a bone-thin woman._

_Eona: GET ON WITH IT!_

_Me: Geez! Ok, I don't down FMA._

_Eona: Now read before the idiot somehow screws up and deletes the chapter._

_Me: HEY, I ONLY DID THAT ONCE!_

(Break)

**Chapter III**

The door was opened by none other than Raquel Mustang.

**-Raquel Mustang. Age 14, looks like her father, has long hair in ponytail. Black eyes shaped like her mother's, she enjoys sharp shooting and knows little alchemy. Paper is what she specializes in and usually only uses it in origami. She does have an interest in automail, though...—**

"Oi! Ian! Where've you been! Oh, hi Uncle Ed, Abi and Eric. Come in, I guess."

She stood aside as the four walked in.

"Raquel! Who's at the door?" A feminine voice called down. Mrs. Mustang, AKA Riza Hawkeye, padded down the stairs. "Hi Hawkeye," Ed waved with his left hand.

"Edward," She seemed surprised to see him.

"Oh! Give this to your dad," Ed handed Raquel the dinner bill. Raquel squinted to read it, then rolled her eyes.

"So where's colonel jack-a$& anyways?" Ed turned to Hawkeye.

"He's the d*** _Fuhrur_, dad..." Eric corrected tiredly.

"And watch your d*** language, both of you," Abigail countered.

"You watch YOUR language!"

Ed sighed.

"…Roy should be asleep by now," Hawkeye answered finally, raising an eyebrow at him about his children.

He shrugged apologetically, then evil grin spread across the former alchemist's face as he registered what the sharp shooter had said. "Abi, go call your mother and tell her to come over here. I have something to do." Ed darted up the stairs past Riza, and the four children counted down. "3...2...1..."

** BOOM!**

Hawkeye sighed as she pulled her gun out as extremely loud shouting was heard, a crash, and another explosion.

All the kids were thinking the exact same thing. "Who won this time?"

Roy had won, by the looks of things. He was practically dragging a slightly blackened, complaining Edward by his right-broken-hand, ignoring his yelps.

"Sir," Hawkeye pulled back the safety on her gun. "Did you break Edward's hand?"

"N-no!" Roy panicked.

"He broke it earlier," Eric sighed.

"That wasn't fair!" Ed complained. "My hand was broken, and you used alchemy!"

Mustang snorted. "Fullmetal, when do I NOT use alchemy on you? And I'll bet you broke your hand for something stupid."

"Is protecting your son from random gangs that probably want ransom stupid?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "And do tell me how you broke your hand."

"...I punched someone's face... And kinda forgot about my hand..." Ed muttered, redirecting his eyes elsewhere.

Mustang smirked triumphantly. "You forgot you didn't have automail? I'd label that reckless, Fullmetal."

"Shut up, b******! And my name is EDWARD, not Fullmetal."

"Whatever you say... Fullmetal."

Ed was probably going to bite the Fuhrur of Amestris, but Raquel quickly stepped in. "Uh...dad! Here's, Uh, something Ed- IAN! Wanted to give you."

Roy looked at the outstretched paper.

"..."

Ed smiled cheekily. "And you need to pay the medical stuff, too. I don't have any money on hand."

**"FULLMETAL!"**

(Break)

Winry entered the front door to the Fuhrur's mansion to see a her husband laughing hysterically, Roy's face red and furious, Riza loading another clip into her gun, and the four children just standing of to the side, seeming pretty disturbed.

Then Winry noticed Ed's hand. "Edward Elric! What did you do to your hand!"

The room froze and Ed looked up at her, terrified. "Um...Winry…ah…"

"Uncle Ed broke it protecting me!" Ian said quickly. He enjoyed his uncle Edward, and didn't want to see his head blown to bits, even if he did like Uncle Alphonse more… (At least he knew Al would be sad at his brother's loss, if not Ian, himself.)

Winry seemed to calm down some. "Oh... But I bet you were reckless, weren't you!"

Ed slowly opened his mouth, but the phone chose that moment to ring. Ed sighed in relief.

Hawkeye moved to pick it up. "Hello? This is the Fuhrur's mansion; Riza Mustang speaking."

"Oh! Hawkeye!"

Everyone recognized the voice on the other side of the phone. Ed smiled.

"Is Ed there? We just got to the hotel and I can't hear anything in their room, so I figured they'd head over there..."

"Why don't you and Mei come over, Alphonse? Edward is here along with his family."

"Thank you, Hawkeye! We'll be over in 15 minutes."

Alphonse hung up, and Riza delicately put the phone back down.

"Edward, your brother will be here shortly with his family," Hawkeye professionally informed. But she couldn't keep a small smile from her face.

"Alright! Aunt Mei and Uncle Al! Now we can get some more alkahestry lessons!" Eric pumped his fist in the air.

"What? I don't teach well enough for you?" Ed asked in mock horror.

Abigail shrugged and laughed. "You don't even know how to do alkahestry!"

"Do too!" Ed shot back.

"But you can't DEMONSTRATE."

Ed stuck out his lower lip. "What I got for my alchemy was well worth it."

"You never did tell us exactly what you got, did you, Dad?" Eric asked.

Ed frowned. "I guess not. But it was for your Uncle Al."

"But WHAT?"

"Some time in the future I'll tell you."

Roy sighed. "Well, Fullmetal, you better go fix my room."

"What!" Ed sputtered, changing topics fast. "Go fix it yourself, b******!"

"You were the one that caused it."

"I don't have alchemy! Go fix it yourself! You don't need a circle to transmute. I imagine you can't screw that up!"

"Uncle Roy doesn't need a circle to transmute?" Abiagil asked. "Awesome!"

"Didn't I tell you that?" Ed raised an eyebrow at his kids.

"No."

"Oh."

Hawkeye sighed. "Sir, go fix the bedroom."

"But-"

Hawkeye gave him an evil look.

Roy practically squealed and raced up the stairs.

A clap and flash of light later, the bedroom was fixed and Mustang trudged back down the stairs.

Ed smirked. "Now was that so hard?"

"Shut your mouth, Fullmetal."

Abigail yawned widely, and Winry walked over to her daughter. "Ed, we need to get back to the hotel. It's late."

"Al hasn't gotten here yet," Ed reminded her.

Winry sighed. "We can't stay long after that."

Then Ian got an idea. "Hey, Mom, can't they just stay here for tonight?" Roy and Ed instantly glared at each other.

"I don't see why not," Riza answered, turning her gaze to her husband. "No assaulting Edward during the night," she said forcefully.

"Same goes for you Ed," Winry said menacingly.

Both men hastily agreed.

A few more awkward minutes, and the doorbell rang again.

Ed made it to the door first and flung it open.

"Ed!"

"Al!"

The brothers embraced each other, smiling happily.

"Hi uncle Al!" Eric and Abigail chorused.

"Hey Aunt Mei!" Ian waved at his (not really) aunt.

Then a small mass Mei had been holding started to wiggle, and was that... giggling?

Winry squealed and padded over to Mei.

"Let me see him, let me see him!"

Mei carefully undid some of the blanket, to reveal a small baby boy with little tufts of black hair and dark golden eyes. He only had a few teeth, but his mouth was morphed into a smile as big as his petite face could handle, and he was laughing at everything.

Winry squealed. "He's adorable! Ed, get in here!"

Both Elric brothers stuck their heads in the doorway to see Nathaniel.

Ed smiled. He stepped out of the doorway and walked over to his wife and sister-in-law.

He leaned down to look at the baby, and the child giggled and grabbed a hold of some of his hair that had fallen over his shoulder.

Ed grunted as the child pulled.

"Evil... Little child."

Al laughed. "Brother. What've you been up to lately?"

Ed gently pried his hair away from his nephew. "Nothing much. I'm sure you've had a much more interesting time."

Al shrugged. "Ling threw a baby shower."

Ed looked at his brother, eyebrow raised. "The_ Emperor of Xing _threw a baby shower?"

"Yes, brother."

Ed shivered. "That must have been chaotic."

Al shook his head. "No, not really. It was pretty nice, actually."

Ed gave his brother a disbelieving look.

"Hey, Uncle Al! Can you teach us some more alkahestry!" Eric burst out.

Al looked at his nephew in surprise. "Sure," he smiled. They planned out their day for the next day, while the hour dragged on.

Abigail tried to stifle another yawn, but her mother saw. "Come on Abi, let's go to bed," Winry instructed. Abigail was too tired to argue, and went up the stairs without a fight.

"Good night," Raquel waved over her shoulder, heading off to her room.

Everyone else eventually dispersed, and headed away to a bedroom somewhere in the house. The lights were turned out, and the house became tranquil until the sun came up the next morning. 

(Break)

_Ok, so that is be the thrid chappy. Uh, Riza calling Roy "Sir". Well, it's the same reason Roy calls Ed "Fullmetal". _**Old habits die hard. **_Just think logically. Well, it keeps an air of professionalism. And I would imagine that Roy is still calling Ed that because he wants to get on his nerves, considering he isn't _that_ short anymore. Maybe he doesn't want to let go of his alchemist subordinate, either? And the 'Aunt and Uncle' thing. Sure, Ian's not related, but he's around them so much, and they always act like a (screwed up) family, so why not call them that?_

_ Anyways, I do write the chapters in advance, because if I don't this story will go BOOM and it will be no more…_

_ So, have a good day/night! I'm going to have to post all the stuff I have written up pretty fast. On Saturday, I'm going on vacation for two weeks to a place ten hours away from where I live, and I'm not sure if they have a connection for my laptop, or even if their computer has a word processor. So the next chapter WILL be up tomorrow. Bye!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey-o! Whatcha doin? Me? Posting this chapter. I gotta get this stuff up!_

_Eona: Quit talking to yourself. You already do with us._

_Hecate: __**Shows up in Envy's form**_

_Eona: Well, that's unoriginal._

_Me: What the heck? Why _Envy_?_

_Eona: Heck if I know. We're from _your _imagination._

_Hecate: __**Transforms back to normal self**__ Meh, Envy isn't good enough for me. Not…(__**She has a dirty thought**__) anyways, Kat here doesn't own FMA._

_Me: HEY SANTA! I WANT FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST FOR CHRISTMAS!_

_Eona: Just shut up._

(Break)

Chapter IV

The next few days brought plenty of commotion, things leading to another, happening in rapid fire motion.

Alchemy was at the top of this, lessons and squabbles constantly going on.

Abigail and Eric had tried explaining alkahestry to Ian, to no avail, only resulting in Ian's frustration being taken out on his sister, who in turn almost shot him.

Seeing this, Abigail and Eric begged Hawkeye for shooting lessons, much to both their parents' horror.

Eric was having a blast, while Abigail had somehow gotten her finger jammed in the gun. After that incident, she dropped out of the lessons, claiming she was better at alchemy than her brother, so she didn't need to know how to work a gun.

That led to a sparring lesson with their father and uncle, and then a battle between the brothers. Alphonse won, purely through forfeit (But he would have won anyways), because first of all, Ed had insisted on fighting despite his broken hand (Which he hadn't let a doctor _touch_.), then Ed's leg had shifted out of place, causing him to loose his balance and fall, along with immense pain.

Only when Raquel sheepishly poked her head in the room and asked Winry if she could watch her work on Ed's automail, did things start to calm down.

Roy had been locked away in his study most of the time, preparing for the yearly state alchemy exam that was coming up. This was a very good thing. The house only suffered minor damage, and was fixed completely by alchemy. The biggest fault was when his wife caught Edward and Ian in a room with his ignition gloves while Ed was explaining the transmutation circle and everything he knew about Flame Alchemy.

At dinner that night, the Fuhrur had only been picking at his food. He looked up. "Fullmetal, Alphonse."

The brothers turned their gazes toward him, along with the rest of the table.

"Sir?" Alphonse asked politely.

Mustang cleared his throat. "I want the two of you to help me with this year's alchemy exam. I've been trying to recruit state alchemists who will do more for the people now, not just to blow stuff up.(1) And who better a judge on that than you two?"

The table was silent for a very long minute.

Ed chuckled, his bangs shadowing his eyes. "You really want to do that?" He slammed his palm down on the table, and looked up with the same fiery gaze that Mustang had first seen all those years ago. "I'll do it."

Al grinned at his brother. "Me too."

Mustang couldn't help but crack a small smile.

(Break)

The four children sat around in Raquel's room as she messed with the transmutation circle on her sheet of paper.

"So about the exam thing..." Abigail started.

"Is there any way we can watch it?" Eric finished, looking to Ian.

Ian grinned. "Of course. We watch it every year. We can sneak you guys in."

Abigail squealed. "Yay!"

"Thanks, man," Eric said to Ian genuinely.

"So what's it like!" Abigail bounced up and down, now full of energy.

Ian frowned as he put his finger to his lips and his eyes were far away. "Well... First there's the written test. It's about your knowledge on alchemy. If you don't pass that, you're out. Then they usually do physicals, and then you get sent into a room one at a time to answer questions that only three people in Amestris get to hear the answer to. And this year it's the Fuhrur, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and Alphonse Elric."

"I think Uncle Al should have a state name too," Abigail grumbled, interrupting Ian. "He's just as good as the two of them!"

Eric thought for a minute. "Yeah. We need to come up with something for him later."

"Anyways," Ian sighed, continuing his speech. "The last thing is the practical portion of the test. One at a time, the alchemists are sent into a room where they are to perform their alchemy. The largest amount of people ever accepted in a year was five. And the years before and after that it was only one. Really, you've got to be pretty d*** good to get in."

"How many people can apply?"

"They take the first 100."

Abigail winced. "That's not a very good chance."

Eric shook his head.

"But... Dad got in when he was twelve. So it can't be that hard."

Ian chuckled. "Your dad was one of the most—IS one of the most brilliant alchemists of the century. It was because he's a genius that he got in. Of course it's hard. Next to him, the youngest state alchemist was Dad, at 20 years old. And he was one of a kind. It was also during the Civil War, and they were recruiting a lot then, too. Think of the luck of the situation. The average age for an alchemist that joins is about 40. Others study for 20 years to get in, and they can't. _That_ is how hard it is."

Eric whistled lowly. "I certainly couldn't get it."

Abiagil shook her head. "Me either... wait! There's never been a female State Alchemist! That's not right! Some day I'll join, just so guys can't say they're better than girls!" (2)

"No way! You can't join the military!" Eric shouted.

Ian smirked. "You don't want to be in the military. Then you have to follow stupid superior's screwed up orders."

Abigail lost the fire to her statement. "Maybe not... She muttered.

Interrupting their talk about the exams, a flash of light had them all turned to see an origami man clapping his hands.

"Wow!" Abigail breathed. "Raquel, you're amazing!"

Raquel smiled wryly. "I guess, but now I want to sleep for the rest of the day."

Eric laughed. He inspected the figurine closer. It was very intricate. "Hey," he squinted. "Is that Uncle Al?"

Raquel nodded slowly. "How'd you figure it out?"

Eric rolled his eyes. "You made it so detailed I couldn't NOT tell it was him."

Ian sighed. He wasn't that good at alchemy. His eyes steeled. Well, he promised he was going to learn flame alchemy and make his dad proud. (He didn't understand why his mom didn't want him too. So he saw it as irrelevant. (3)) 

(Break)

That sounded so OOC… I couldn't think of anything else, though! Sorry!

(2) I remember when I was eleven, I had this streak of thinking that girls could do anything boys could, and that boys are a bunch of idiots for thinking otherwise. So I guess that's where that came from.

(3)Ok, so remember Riza's tattoo that she had Roy burn? Did she not say she wanted him to burn it so there could never be another flame alchemist again? It seems she still holds strong to that belief. There's the explanation to that, in case it was disappointing to not see second generation flame alchemists for some of you.

_Ok, so that was a shorter one. It was filler, too. Me is sorry! Next will be the exams! And guess where Mustang is going to have to go for a military thing later? ISHBAL! Haha, I've never seen that before, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The last chapter I have typed up will be up later today or tomorrow._

Danke _for reading!_

I pulled from the first anime for the exam, considering that in the manga, it only gives us Ed's practical portion (Or that's what I like to think it is) of his test. And we don't know whether you just show up and ask to do it, or there's a set date. So there's a set date here (But you don't know what it is. XD Me either, actually.).

To explain why I gave Mustang the age of twenty. I made a chart.

Mustang is on the left, Ed on the right. It's their ages.

29-15 series

26-12 exam

25-11 meet

21ish-7ish Trisha and Rockbells die. Ishbal State Alchemy stuff.

So the most reasonable age I could think of for him was 20. I was originally going to go with 22, but I decided to base it on the real thing as much as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

_**LISTEN UP! THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE IS IMORTANT! DO NOT SKIP IT UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE UTTERLY CONFUSED.**_

__**Ok, first of all, this is Chapter 5 redone. Got it? Yes. Good. Someone said to keep the humorous bit, and someone else said to redo it. So what did I do? I GAVE YOU AN OPTION! You can read the humorous one, or the serious one. Or both. They both merge to the same point, so you can just smoothy continue reading. Smart, huh?**

**Eona: Nope.**

**Me: Shut up. The humorous one is first, so don't get confused. Just scroll down a little, and you'll get the serious one. After that, they merge. Get it, got it, good? Ok, read.**

(Break)

** Humorous Interpret**

The morning found Roy, Ed, and Al groggily sitting in central command where the exams were to be held. The giant, steaming multi-gallon container filled to the brim with coffee was practically their life line at that time.

"Uhgg..." Ed complained. "Al, why did I agree to this?"

"I honestly don't know, brother," Al groaned back.

As the hour wore on, the alchemists set on taking the exam trickled in. Ed pointed out all the weird looking guys, and Al pointed out that he didn't see a single woman, naturally depressing the Fuhrur, despite his married status.

After the doors being shut rather majestically by COLONEL Armstrong, the Fuhrur stood. "Welcome to this year's alchemy exam. This year, we are looking for a more alchemists who are willing to help the people of the country, not murder innocent people. This is the writing portion. You must fill in the test, you have an hour. Any questions?"

A rather thin man raised his hand tentatively. Mustang nodded at him. "Aren't the other people at the judging table usually generals?"

Mustang nodded. "Yes. But this year, I've decided that since I'm looking for alchemists to help the people. So I invited the Elric brothers to join me up here."

Excited murmurs danced around the room.

The Fuhrur held his hand up for silence. The room slowly quieted down, and the questions continued.

Half an hour later, the test had begun, and the only noise in the vast hall was the scrape of chairs and scribbling of pens.

Up at the Fuhrur's judging table, Ed was nodding off, despite all his coffee, while Al kept nudging his brother to keep him awake. Roy on the other hand, had had TOO MUCH coffee. Not only did he need to expend his energy, he seriously needed to use the little boy's room. He quickly thought up a plan to satisfy both.

He snapped his fingers and a small explosion tore some of the roof apart, the debris starting to fall towards the screaming alchemists (they weren't allowed chalk in the exam room), dust evolving the room.

Al swiftly clapped his hands before anyone could get hurt, and mended the ceiling.

"What the h*** was that for!" Ed shouted at the Fuhrur, only to find him gone, running, no, sprinting towards the bathrooms.

In the swirling mass, no one could find him, so when it was cleared, Roy was calmly back in his seat, looking much relieved and rather smug.

Ed leaned over to him with a smirk. "Had too much coffee, huh?"

(Break)

** Serious Interpret**

Ed yawned as the alchemists set on taking the exam trickled in. There weren't too many this year, and he was both glad and annoyed.

After a few more minutes, _Colonel_ Armstrong closed the giant doors rather majestically.  
>Mustang gave a quick speech, introduced the Elric Brothers (This brought a lot of murmurs), and then asked for questions.<p>

A wiry man with glasses tentatively raised his arm.

Mustang nodded at him.

"Fuhrur, sir... Um, what are looking for this year in alchemists?"

"This year I am looking for alchemists more for working with the civilians of Amestris, not heroes for war. That is why the Elric Brothers are here with me."

A few hands went down, their questions answered.

After about 15 more minutes, the Fuhrur started the exam, and the clock started ticking down.

(Break)

**Both Humorous and Serious Merge Here**

The high pitched trill that signaled the end of the test period tore the alchemists from their tests and thoughts, causing most of them to jump.

Ed jolted out of his half-sleep, and wiped the drool from his face. He blinked groggily at his brother, who was stifling laughter. Ed glared as best he could half-asleep while the papers were collected around the room.

The giant room was silent. All the alchemists were either holding their breath and fidgeting, thinking they did horrendous, or lounging back, thinking they did well.

All eyes were on the table up front that was slightly elevated, gleaming in the thin stream light filtering in from the high windows. It was rather distracting, really. The people who were actually looking at the three judges were rather unable to find words to describe what they saw.

The Fuhrur was looking professional, and his face was blank. But if anyone looked closely, they could see that he was extremely bored and annoyed. His hand was twitching: he wanted to blow something up.

Alphonse Elric was nodding politely at everyone who had caught his eye, and the Fullmetal Alchemist was shaking his head and blinking, trying to wake up.  
>After an awkward moment of nothing on the alchemists' part; the Fuhrur stood up to close up the written exam. <p>

(Break)

Ian put his finger to his lips in a 'quiet' signal, and Eric and Abigail nodded. The three were sneaking into the balcony over the room where the practical sections were held. Checking the hallway one last time, Ian cracked the door, and the three slipped in.

Raquel was already leaning on the railing, watching. The preteens joined her, and the Elrics gazed down hesitantly. They weren't disappointed.

A man with a large transmutation circle on the ground crouched down and blue light flashed. Out of the ground rose an intricate statue of a dragon, three and a half meters high. (Why meters if I'm American? Cuz a whole lot more people use metics.)

Eric was grinning. "Awesome."

Abiagil had to stifle a gasp. She'd seen Uncle Al and Aunt Mei do much better, but it was still pretty cool.

The kids looked over to the three judges. The Fuhrur had a blank, unimpressed look on his face. Alphonse had leaned forward, his mouth in a frown, studying the statue for faults. He whispered something to Edward, and he nodded.

Ed stood up and walked over to the nervous alchemist. He walked around the statue, his eyes darting around, taking in every detail.

Then Ed placed his hand on the scaly belly of the dragon, and ran his hand along it. When he pulled it back, it had a thin layer of dirt on it. Ed tapped it. He nodded, then without warning, punched straight through the rock. The alchemist cried out, but Ed ignored him and pulled his fist back out. He casually walked back over to the table, and sat down.

Mustang nodded at the alchemist. "Thank you, the results will be posted tomorrow."

As Al went to fix the ground, the four kids pulled back, and starter to discuss the alchemist who had just closed the door rather loudly, obviously not completely in control of his nervously shaking hands.

"Pretty good," Raquel said.

Ian nodded. "But it was slightly weak. Uncle Ed punched through it without any problem. And he used his _broken_ hand."

Abigail nodded, then sighed. "Mom is going to kill him," she frowned. "It was hollow too. Not too good."

Eric shrugged. "Well, normally hollow stuff isn't practical, but as far as showing off, it's giving off an aura of better skill. He had it hollowed out to fit his shell of the dragon. I think he did good, but I could see a slight drag in his step: he'd lost just slightly too much energy."

Abigail blinked at her brother. "How'd you even notice that?"

Eric shrugged again. "I guess I was just paying attention more."

"I saw it," Ian offered. Raquel nodded.

Abigail started pouting. "I'm the only one who didn't see it?"  
>"Yup," Eric replied as the door creaked open again, signifying another alchemist coming in.<p>

(Break)

** W00T! I did it! Ok, this crappy WordPad doesn't have a thing to check how many words I wrote, so we'll see what happens. Um, now that I know how this works, I can write! XD Ok, so I'm trying to think. Where are they going next...? Ah, well, I have to finish the exams, etc, then I need a motive for them to go somewhere. Only so much can happen in Central. We shall see... **


	6. Chapter 6

_**LISTEN UP, THIS IS IMPORTANT, DO NOT SKIP THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE!**_

__**Ok, so with that said, Chapter 5 is redone, completely, so if you read the chapter before 7-6-11, GO BACK AND READ IT. It's a real chapter now, and if you don't read it, this won't make much sense. Got it? Ok, then. Moving on.**

**Me: Eona. Do it.**

**Eona: No. Get someone from FMA to do it.**

**Me: But that's unoriginal!**

**Hecate: Do. It. Yourself.**

**Me: *Huff* fine! I do not own FMA!**

**Eona: *Smirk* now was that so hard?**

**Me: YES.**

(Break)

**Chapter V**

The alchemists stood nervously outside the Fuhrur's office. There were two of them this year. A rather bulky man, and the thin wiry man who had spoken up at the written exam. Colonel Hawkeye, the Fuhrur's secratary, opened the door for the two of them, and stood aside as they walked in.

The fuhrur was sitting at his desk, the same blank expression on his face, and the two new state alchemists tried not to feel intimidated. The bulky man had already been in the military before he took the exam, and he snapped a salute to the Fuhrur. The wiry man next to him scrambled to try and copy him, failing rather comically.

The Fuhrur chuckled, and said, "Sit down."

The two oblieged, and soon enough, they were handed their own packets. "Really, I find amusment in choosing State Alchemists' new titles, but this year, my fun was ruined by Fullmetal, who was nagging me the entire time. So you may blame him for any inconviences you have with your new title," The Fuhrur smirked.

"Now," I have your fisrt mission as State Alchemists right here," Mustang went on. "You are to accompany me to Ishbal for my yearly visit. Bond with the people who used to hate this country. If you are to help the people, that is the first place you will need to go. Be here tomorrow morning at 0800 hours. Dissmissed."

As the two alchemsits silently left the room, Hawkeye sighed. "Sir, what names did you give them?"

Mustang told his subordinate. Hawkeye didn't have much to say on the subject. The names weren't up to par with the usual names, but they weren't that bad.

(Break)

"So you guys are the new State Alchemists, eh?" Ed scanned over the two out of place men leaving Central Command.

The two stood up straighter. "Yes sir, Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Ed chuckled. "I'm not technically in the military any more. You don't have to address me as so."

The wiry man tenatively spoke up. "What do you want, sir?"

Ed frowned. "No 'sirs', but I was going to take you out to the alchemy training field to see what you can do. Mind telling me your names and why you joined the military?"

-**Zeke Maison specailizes in weaponry, and knows a thing or two about metal alchemy, and some explosions. He's a good enough shot, and does well in the field. He was in the military before he became an alchemist, as a corporal. His transmutations are rather small scale, but he knows how to make them effective in the largest way possible. He is rather cocky, but once he's been proven something, he can be humbled about it. He is extremely outgoing, and it does get him into trouble. He his tall and bulky, slightly muscualr, with average lenght fair hair, and dark blue eyes. He has a mustache, which he prides for an unknown reason, and he etches transmutaiton circles all over his body, in case of emergency. He aspires for the higher living type of life, and is ready to work for it... after a long argument. He mysteriously doesn't like eitehr Ian and Eric, but he is smart enough to know not to do anything to them. He joined the military because he didn't have anything else left in his life. His family died because the military couldn't protect his town, and so he joined, to protect others where he couldn't be protected. He absulately hates his State Alchemist title and doesn't tell anyone what it is. Technically, only the Fuhrur and his secratary know.**

** Blaire Thompson specializes in earth; the Terra Alchemist. He's a tad bit shy, and has round glasses. He has short auburn hair, and rather pale skin. He's single. His wiry frame makes him an easy target, and his alchemy tires him, but he is an enemy to be wary of. He has a soft spot for little kids and animals, and enjoys playing with them. He had a repair business before he joined the military. He joined because he wanted to be able to help others, and the Fuhrur knew about his motives previously. He wishes to learn more about his trade, to become better, and help even more people.**

Half an hour later, they arrived at the field. It was mostly deserted, besides a few select people. Another State Alchemist, along with Alphonse and Mei.

"Why are civilians here?" The bulky man grumbled. "This is military property, yes?"

"Oh. Alphonse and his wife? Yeah, this is military ground, but they're fine. They helped save the country from mass distruction, and are also the most advanced alkahestrists in Amestris. I wouldn't be worried. They would kick your a**es in a battle."

The bulky man, Zeke, scoffed. "I'd like to see them try!" His pride for becoming a State Alchemist must have been getting to his head.

Ed smirked. "Try it. I'd like to see this. HEY AL! GET DOWN HERE FOR A SECOND!" Ed cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

Alphonse Elric and Mei Elric made their way to the three.

"What is it, Ed?"

"This guy thinks he can beat you in a duel. Care to battle him?" Ed pointed at the large alchemist.

Al looked skeptical. "Are you sure, sir? You might get hurt..." 

Maison laughed. "I'll get hurt? _You_ should be worrying! I'll beat you!"

Al sighed. "Alright. I'll start on the other side. But please try not to exert yourslef. Wait! Do you mind if I test out some alkahestry stuff in the battle?"

Zeke shrugged. "No matter what you do, you can't beat me!"

When the two alchemists were ready, Ed shouted, "FIGHT!"

Maison sprang into action. He quickly placed his fingers on the transmutation circle on his arm, and then put the fingers on the chain link fence behind him, alchemical sparks starting to draw attention to the field. Maison drew out the staff he'd transmuted, leaving a gaping hole in the fence, and ran at Al.

Al sighed. Did this guy seriously want to go hand to hand? Wasn't this supposed to be an _alchemy_ fight? Al slipped out five knives, and waited calmly. He then threw then out against the wall that Maison was going to have to pass to get to him. Timing it just right, Al clapped his hands and activated the circle, effectivley tripping his alchemist opponent.

Maison cursed. Dirty, no good trick! He jumped back to his feet, and held his staff up, more wary now. He started stalking the blonde man in front of him, who was holding another set of knives. Maison charged forward silently, all of a sudden, hoping to catch Al off guard. He was sorely disapointed.

Al easily dodged the swipe, knocking away the end of the pole that got too close for comfort with a knife, and then threw it on the ground, embedding it there. The next swipe he backed away from, and did a back hand spring over the thrid, planting another knife. Ed smiled. He saw what his brother was doing.

Maison thrust the pole again, getting agitated, only this time, the man grabbed the metal staff, and using his momentum, pulled him down.

Al used the fallen man as a spring board, and jumped, leaving the knife in the next spot. He ducked as Zeke swung at him with a fist, and started to move around him. Al easily blocked swings, but threw out few of his own. He wasn't battling Ed, and he didn't want the poor man to get hurt. He had placed another knife, and the last one came into place when Al pushed off Zeke's shoulder, causing the bulky man to topple over, while Al did a flip and threw the fifth knife down.

Maison's eyes widened. He saw it now. The five knives made a circle... and he was in the dead center. Before he could move, Alphonse clapped his hands and a rock prison shot up and formed with the circle, entrapping Maison.

Maison cursed and was about to transmute one of the walls (Or he hoped he was. He wasn't too good with the elements including earth materials.), when he heard clapping and cheering behind him. Maison spun around quickly, to see many military officers, who had appearantly been watching the battle, and now they were cheering for him. And he'd lost. Why were they cheering?

Ed was laughing as he walked over and leaned up against one of the bars. "Not too bad, rookie."

Maison frowned. "But I lost."

Ed snorted, then stood back as his brother clapped his hands and put them on his prison, effectively replacing it to the ground. "Please. Most people can't last fifteen seconds in an arena with Al. You did pretty well. Though I have to admit, that was only a light warm up for him."

Zeke's mouth hung open.

"Brother, now that I'm kind of in the mood, do you want to spar?" Al walked over.

Ed grinned. "Sure, Al. The military personnel don't look like they want to go back to training anyways." The two brothers walked away from Maison, forgetting him, while he tried to process all this information.

(Break)

"What's that?" Abigail jumped onto the bed next to her older brother.

Eric maneuvered the paper away from her. "None of your business. Now you're in my light! Move!"

Abigail scowled. "Lemme see it, big bro!"

"No!"

The two started wresting, until Abigail ended up sitting on her screaming brother, while she read the note.

The letter fluttered down beside Eric, and the weight that was his sister lifted. "It was just a letter from Siyu, telling us they were coming to the country soon," Abigail shrugged. "Why so worried?"

Eric scowled, but was secretly relieved. His 'Second cousin?' was the son of the Emperor of Xing, and the two of them had long established a code to get past both the emperor and Eric's dad, so they could talk about anything they wanted without suspicion. Eric was afraid Abigail might figure it out, but apparantly not. He internally sighed. "I duh no. I just don't want you prying into my stuff! Give me some privacy!"

Abigail's eyes narrowed, and her lower lip stuck out as she crossed her arms and stomped out of the room. "Stupid teenagers!" She muttered.

_ I'm not a teenager... yet._ Eric though slyly. _But I bet a lot of people fear the day I am, considering that I take after dad._

(Break)

**W00T! I've got a word processor! So it's a crappy old version, but still. Ok, so I'm not exactly sure where the heck I'm going with this, so I'm trying to decide when Ling and Lan Fan should jump in. Also, with the new State Alchemists, I don't want to put them in the story. I seriously don't. But the way this happened, I guess we'll see alittle more of them. I'll try and drop them off in Ishbal, and they can hopefully exit the story, while our main characters move on, so yup. Please, I kinda don't know what to think about the dang OCs... What did Al do? He did alkahestry. He doesn't need a circle to transmute, so he doesn't need to make another circle for himself to activate, just clap his hands, per usual. Don't forget, he's been in the East for about 20 years. He had PLENTY of time to learn all this stuff.**

** Well, yup. That's it for now! See ya later! ;) (I noticed I never said ONE DANG THING about reviews, yet some nice people did anyways... thanks, guys!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hola! Ok, so here you are, random people who are viewing this. Chapter VII! Alright!**

**Eona: Alright, Kat. GO GET A LIFE.**

**Me: *Sniff* But then I would make these people sad...**

**Hecate: Pessimistic. Do the disclaimer, and get on with the story.**

**Me: Fine. I no own FMA. Got it? Good. I have no shame in saying that. It's much, much, better that I never even wish I owned FMA. Yes. Ok. Moving on. Story - Read.**

(Break)

**Chapter VII (7, XD)**

Ed and Al were walking back to the Fuhrur's mansion after their sparring match (that Al won), just catching up. When the grown brothers arrived back at the estate, they found the four children laying around in the grass.

The two sat down next to the kids. "Hey," Ed greeted. Eric waved his arm in adknowledgement. "Why were you gone so long?" Abigail directed her gaze at her father, assuming he was the reason. Ed shrugged. "One of the new state alchemists wanted to battle Al, and then the two of us were sparring some." For a few minutes, the six just stayed where they were, enjoying the tranquil garden.

"Oh! I forgot," Ian suddenly jumped up. "I have to pack my stuff. Dad and Mom are going to Ishbal tomorrow, for some peace thing. Gotta go!" Ian ran off.

Ed blinked at him. "Uh, Raquel, don't you have to pack, too?"

"Nope," Raquel sighed. "I did this morning. I reminded him, but appearantly he didn't listen."

"...Hey, dad?" Abigail asked quietly. "Can we go, too? To Ishbal?"

There was a short silence, then Al spoke up. "Well, brother, we haven't been in a while... and the kids have never been there. Why not?"

Ed frowned. "Yeah, true...I guess so. You guys wanna go organize the stuff you brought to Central? The train leaves at 11 tomorrow."

(Break; time skip...)

In the train station, the Elric families were rushing to get to the correct train in time. Eric had gotten up late, someone had to change Nathaniel's diaper, which resulted in an argument, Winry had hit Ed with a wrench multiple times, and Abigail had lost some shirt of her's, and wouldn't stop complaining until someone took her out to get another one.

Once finally in their seats, their breathing faster than normal, did their day calm down. But not really. The train broke down, resulting in Winry having to help the conductors to fix it, while everyone else waited outside, in the _desert_. Ed was complaining more than both his children combined, about his leg, how hot it was, and was constantly cursing the train. Mei considered knocking him out, but then her husband would be disapointed in her. And it wouldn't set a good example for the children.

Eventually, the train was fixed, and the journey continued (mostly) unfazed. Eric's window wouldn't open, so when he tried to open it with alchemy, the glass shattered, and he had a few scrapes that Mei had to fix with alkahestry. Ed snickered the whole time, and when Winry elbowed him, he reluctantly shut up.

Arriving at the train station in Ishbal, Ed led the way ealisy through the new city, still being built up, and to what looked like a nicer house. Mei knocked on the door, while everyone else stood there, sweating their butts off. The door finally was opened by a young Ishballan girl, maybe seven years old, with big red eyes and shoulder lenght hair. "Moniqua!" Mei smiled at the little girl, squatting down to hug her. The little girl giggled and hugged back. "Hi Mrs. Mei!" Moniqua beamed back. Then she noticed the other people behind the Xingese woman. "Mr. Ed, Mr. Al!" She ran up to hug them. They laughed as she tried to enbrace them both at once, and Ed picked her up. "You've gotten bigger," he observed. "Why not go hug Winry, too?"

The small girl's eyes widened, and a huge smile of joy crossed her face. "WINRY-SAMA!" She shouted. **(Pardon the Japanese honorific. It just inplies more than Mrs. you know?) **Winry embraced the joyous girl, and tickled her. "You look much better than last time," Winry nodded, while Moniqua giggled.

A woman then appeared in the doorway to the house. "Moniqua, what's all the noise? Oh! Hello, Elrics! Please, come in. I'm sorry for leaving you out here for so long! Come in, come in!" The woman, presumably Moniqua's mother, ushered. The eight shuffled in, and the door was closed behind them. "It's good to see you again," the woman said warmly.

Ed smiled and shook her hand. "Yeah, it's been a while. The Fuhrur's coming here for his anual Peace Mission, and the kids wanted to come, too."

The woman (Dang, she needs a name, but I want her to have no signifigance, so she doesn't get one. 0.o) turned to Eric and Abigail. "It's nice to meet you," she said with a smile. "Do I have the honor of knowing your names?"

Abigail nodded while Eric spoke. "I'm Eric Elric. And this is my sister Abigail." The woman smiled (for about the one thousandth time that evening) and bowed slightly to them. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Abigail said sweetly.

"Do you mind if we stay here for a few days?" Ed asked, getting right to business.

The woman seemed surprised. "No, not at all! Stay as long as you like, we owe you."

Eric faintly wondered why this family would owe his, but pushed the though away.

"...There's plenty of room, and supper will be ready in an hour." The woman had went on. Al thanked her, and soon, the Elrics all had their own rooms, and the four adults were leaving after a delicious Ishballan dinner.

"Where're you going?" Abigail complained.

"To see someone." Ed said firmly.

"Do we know them? Are you friends?" Eric pressed on.

Ed frowned. "You've heard of him, but never met him. I can't call him a friend, but he once tried to kill me, then he was my ally."

The two children blinked. How could that happen?

"He's not a bad man," Mei assured them. She was leaving Nathaniel with Moniqua mother (This was clarified during dinner), so she could go see this person. She must seriously want to go, leaving her baby with another woman she hadn't seen in years.

Abigail pouted, but provided no further resistance, while Eric tried to make a deal with the adults. "Can we meet him later? Or can you tell us about him when we get back? At least tell us his name! We deserve to know, this is a free (um... sort of?) country! We have rights!" Eric was obviously not going going to major in politics in collage.

"No," Ed said firmly, closing the door behind him.

Abigail sighed. "This isn't fair!" Then the girl with big eyes - Moniqua - poked her head around the corner. "Um... do you want me to show you around...? I can show you all the animals we have..."

The siblings perked up at this. "Sure!" Eric grinned. The girl tenatively smiled back, then murmured a quick "follow me".

(Break)

"Hey... I forget where he lives..." Ed muttered, taking another wrong turn. The three others knew full well where they were going, but Ed had insisted on leading. Winry sighed. "Ed. You were supposed to turn right back there, and we're going the opposite direction now."

"No! I know where I'm going!" He waved her off.

After thirty more minutes of wandering, they had passed the house twice, and Ed had just passed it agian. The three silently broke off, walking down the path to the front door, while he continued walking.

The man that opened the door seemed surprised to see them, but then raised an eyebrow at Ed, who was still walking on, oblivious.

"He insisted on leading us here," Al sighed. "But he obviously doesn't know where he's going."

The man nodded in understanding.

Mei bowed. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Scar."

(Break)

"So this is Bessie," Moniqua was petting a cow. The two looked at the cow, criticizing it. They grew up in a farming village - they knew a good cow when they saw one, and this particular one was very nice, indeed. Moniqua's family had multiple animals, including cows, goats, a horse, sheep, and for some reason, a llama. The Elric children enjoyed most of them, and Eric had to say the llama was his favorite. It's name was Carl, and Moniqua had put a green santa hat on it's head. It had started to try and bite Abigail's wrist, but she pulled away with a squeal. Moniqua had laughed, and said that Carl always seemed to be wanting to bite someone's hand. Eric smirked, and went back to the present, thinking about the cows he was viewing.

(Break)

**Ok, so that last little paragraph was unnecisarry, but if any knows the reference (And I'm sure **_**everyone**_** does), feel free to tell me. You get a vitual cookie. Or maybe a deer skull. Haha, OK, the next chapter is going to be when the Fuhrur arrives! (Hopefully) I don't usually like to write what's going to happen next in these, because I like to keep the door open for myself to change stuff. Anyways, thanks for reading. I now am going to go heat up some bacon for myself.**


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm sooooo sorry, guys! I just kinda fell out of it for a while there... anyways, I think I took a three week maturity stage, because all of a sudden, I feel it is OK to write out swear words... well crap. Might move the rating to 'T', then. But plenty of K plus stuff has the basic cussing, right? So I think I'll be fine... 0.o Eh hem... yeah... _

**Me: **_**OH YEAH! I JUST FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE THE HORIZON LINE! LOOK AT THE PRETTY LINE! IT DOESN'T SAY -(Break)-! YESSS!**_

**Eona: Idiot.**

**Me: I know... *hangs head in shame***

**Eona: You really are an idiot. You're not supposed to agree with that.**

**Me: I know...**

**Hecate: What? Alright, I'm getting outta here before she rubs off on me. *teleports away***

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><p>Ed wasn't too pleased as he slammed the door to Scar's house. He stormed into the sitting area, and leaned agianst the wall.<p>

"How could you, Al?" Ed whined. Now, in a normal family situation, one would probably complain to their wife for this act, considering that marrige equals loyalty to your sprouse. Truthfully, their brother would be the culprit, because who doens't mess with their (Direct;blood) family? Sadly, in poor Ed's situation, he knew Winry would do that. Al, not so much.

"Brother?" Al looked surprised.

"Why did you leave me?" Ed insisted.

"Um..." Al shifted a bit. "Well, Ed, you went by the house twotimes."

"_Three_," Winry corrected.

"Three times," Al continued. "Winry decided that she was going on without you, because you wouldn't listen to anything we said. So I figured it was pointless, and that you would catch up eventually."

Ed scowled and crossed his arms. Awkward silence filled the room for a long minute.

Mei _finally _walked in with Scar.

Scar raised his eyebrow at Ed. "Finally decided to join us?"

Ed scowled and turned away. "Anyways, we were just stopping by. Mustang's going to be here by tomorrow, and we thought we'd just give you a heads up."

Scar nodded his thanks silently. He did have a few connections to the military, considering that he played a major role in Ishbal's reconsturction (No pun intended. It would'da sucked if it was, anyways.), after all. They kept him updated on things that concerned him and/or Ishbal, considering he didn't care much else about regular military talk. Mustang was Fuhrur, so the head on the country was against shooting his people dead. Good enough for him. Scar also did not choose another name. Others had tried to come up with something for him, but he had blantly refused to answer to them. They were all rediculous, anyways.

Mei looked around the room, not seeing a whole lot. Two ragged chairs - one occupied by Winry - rather bland tan wall coloring, not a single picture or other item hung up. The wooden floor looked old and worn out, and the rug looked in possibly worse condition. Mei wasn't sure why Mr. Scar refused to aquire better living standards. Mei also noted with dissatisfaction that Scar did not have a wife, not even a girlfriend. His past life was behind him, in her mind. He needed to have a little fun. Isn't twenty years enough?

"You know, Scar... I was wondering..." Winry trailed off. They all turned to her. "If... you could tell me the place... where my mom and dad died... I just... wanted to pay my respects, I guess you could say..." Winry stared intently at the floor.

Scar blinked at her, his eyes slightly wide. Then he lowered his head some. "Of course."

The group didn't stay much longer, and Ed comforted his wife on the way back to Moquinia's family's house. **(You know what's bad? When you leave a story for two and a half weeks and forget the name of the OC you unintentionally created. I did. 0.o)** When they got back, the kids started bombarding them with questions.

"Alright, alright!" Ed shouted. "Just give us a minute! Come to our room, OK? CALM DOWN."

Up in the Elric's bedroom, the two children sat expectantly on the floor, facing the adults scattered across the room in chairs or on the bed.

Ed sighed. Al rubbed the back of his head. "One question at a time."

Both Abigail and Eric started speaking at the exact same time.

Ed sighed agian, then said, "Abigail first."

Loud protests were heard from Eric. "What? That's not fair! She's younger, I was born first!" (1)

Ed leaned in towards his son. "And that is exactly why Abi comes first. You're supposed to protect your younger siblings, and make sure they always come before you do." (2)

Eric pouted, but didn't protest. He understood that that particular logic applied really strongly to his father and uncle. Best not make both of them upset.

"OK!" Abigail sucked in a breath. "Who did you go to see?"

Al looked at his brother. "We went to go see Scar, one of the leading founders of rebuilding Ishbal."

Ohhh... Both the children had heard the name, but thought nothing extrodinary of it.

"Can _we_ meet him?" Eric continued.

"Maybe," Winry said.

Eric pouted. "That's not a good answer."

Winry frowned at her son. "That's not a good answer? Then how about, 'I'm your mother. What I say, goes.'"

Eric turned to his father. "Dad, come on, back me up here!"

Ed held his hands up. "No way! I'm not going _near _your mother if she says that."

What could have been passed off as for a gurgling type of giggle came from Nathaniel.

"So, Dad," Abigail had just remembered - "You said you'd tell us another story of you and Uncle Al's travels. Can you tell us now?"

Ed smiled. "Sure, Abi."

"When do you want to refer to, Ed?" Al pondered.

"Hmm... how about the time that I sprayed Mustang with a firehose?"

"Ed, that's not part of our travels, that was just when we were back at Eastern Command," Al sighed.

"Then you come up with something!" Ed fell back on the bed.

"How about the time you met Aunt Mei, Uncle Al?" Abigail asked.

Al smiled. "That's a great idea!" He frowned for a second, thoughtfully.

"Mei, Ed, help me out here. So actually - coincidence - we were fighting Scar. And at that time, Mei was on Scar's side. It wasn't _bad, _perse, just, not what side we were on. So, Scar was injured slightly from a bullet wound from Lieutenant Hawkeye -"

"She's not a lieutenant!" Eric cried.

"Oh, sorry!" Al apoligized. "She was then. Anyways, we were about to attack him agian, when Mei jumps in and - "

" - Just nailed both of us in the face," Ed finished. "Then she used alkahestry to escape with him."

The two siblings blinked and looked at Mei, who was blushing. "I didn't know back then! And... I know I didn't hurt you, Alphonse!"

"What about me?" Ed grumbled.

"Huh?" Mei said.

Ed just moaned and didn't say any more but add a few comments as they talked more about the different times they were with Mei.

* * *

><p>(1) I use that a lot. XD Depending on what time of year it is, my sister uses, "My birthday's the closest!"<p>

(2) If only _I_ believed in that. Nope... though it is a good theory.

* * *

><p><strong>This one is not what I said would be in the last chapter's note, but it's been two and a half weeks. Gimme a break. I understand that's about the time it takes some people to update reguarly, but I'm not that person. Yeah...<strong>


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